Seager's slam in 8th propels Dodgers to victory

June 11th, 2017

LOS ANGELES -- Using an eighth-inning rally capped off by 's first career grand slam, the Dodgers worked a come-from-behind victory and series sweep of the Reds in a 9-7 decision on Sunday afternoon.
"That inning right there, that ability to win pitches, you can go down the list of at-bats, the exclamation mark with Corey hitting the homer was just typical," said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts.
Leading 7-3 heading into the eighth, the Reds brought in closer to try and keep their lead. However, Iglesias walked three straight Dodgers batters, aided by a 13-pitch at-bat by to set up Seager's grand slam.
Grand slams mean 40% off pizza
"Today was a tough day for me," said Iglesias, who entered the game with a scoreless streak of 20 consecutive innings. "I didn't have the feel for my pitches today. I made a mistake."
closed out the ninth for the Dodgers, earning his 200th career save and stretching his record of consecutive strikeouts without a walk to 43.

"He's one of the leaders on the ball club," Roberts said. "You take a look at his young career and 200 saves, he's a championship type player. For us, to help us win baseball games, he's a large part of it."
The Reds were in a groove at the plate, hitting four home runs in the game. and hit two-run home runs, and Joey Votto and hit solo shots.
"Tough to waste a seven-run effort by the offense, but it's really what we do as far as scoring runs," said Reds manager Bryan Price. "That really has been a big part, the power portion. We got some great at-bats and some big add-on runs there to stretch the lead to four going into the eighth and we just couldn't shut it down."
hit a pair of home runs for the Dodgers, a two-run shot to right-center in the second, and a solo homer in the eighth. added a solo shot of his own in the fifth inning.

Dodgers starter  was chased after four innings, giving up six hits and four runs.
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Giving them a spark: Before Seager's grand slam, Bellinger helped the Dodgers cut into the Reds' lead. The rookie smacked his second home run of the game to 7-4, marking his third multi-home run game of the season.
Staying the course: After Iglesias walked in the eighth with one-out, Hernandez headed to the plate looking to spark the Dodgers' rally. Hernandez, who came in the game for , worked a 13-pitch at-bat, that would help set up a grand slam after Utley was walked.

"You have to give him a lot of credit," Reds catcher said of Hernandez. "He put together a really good at-bat against a really tough pitcher. You've got to keep throwing strikes, and we tried there for a while and he kept fouling them off. I would give a lot of the credit to him."
QUOTABLE
"I think it's something where there's a process, there's a fight in that clubhouse. When you look at a season, a winning season, a championship season, these are games that are a reason why we're going to be right there in the end." -- Roberts, on his team's ability to come from behind in games
"Outside of the skill set and the confidence is the ability to control the pulse and the heartbeat. He's a guy that hits good pitches and performs in big spots and he did it again today." -- Roberts, on his Seager's ability to come up clutch
SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS
Votto, Schebler and Duvall are on pace to combine for 133 homers, which would set a Reds' franchise record for a trio in a single season.

SUAREZ FLASHES LEATHER
Reds third baseman continued to show off his improved defense, making a barehanded play on a chopper from Hernandez for the final out of the sixth inning.

"It's the norm now," Price said. "Instead of it being something that stands out because it wasn't happening as frequently as you'd like to last year as he was learning the position, now it's the norm. You want to make sure that you don't take for granted that the plays that he makes are sensational. I think we all make a point to go over there and give him a pat on the back every time he comes in after an outstanding play, because he makes it look easy."
WHAT'S NEXT
Reds: Bronson Arroyo takes the mound when the Reds open a three-game series in San Diego on Monday. Arroyo is seeking his first winning decision since May 2 against the Giants. The Reds have won his last two starts. First pitch is scheduled for 10:10 p.m. ET.
Dodgers: The Dodgers have Monday off and travel to Cleveland for their first interleague series of the season. Ace Clayton Kershaw will get the ball in the series opener and is coming off a win against the Nationals in his last outing. Kershaw is 8-2 on the year, with a 2.20 ERA.
Watch every out-of-market regular-season game live on MLB.TV.